


Buddy Aurinko and the Ghosts of the Past

by CertifiedPissWizard



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Buddy: damn foiled again by jets emotional awareness, F/F, Gen, Heist fic, Mild Angst, Pre-Canon, buddy voice: i miss vespa but i wont say it, god buddy and jets friendship is everything, heavy yearning, jet: you miss vespa, theyre just besties who work well together, you can taste the eat the rich
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27392281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CertifiedPissWizard/pseuds/CertifiedPissWizard
Summary: Buddy Aurinko has been many things- a thief, a star, a prisoner, the lover of Vespa Ilkay. She's also dying, so she's been trying to focus on putting the last part behind her- something that should have been easy. Unfortunately, though, sometimes targets change locations, and crime waits for no woman, not even Buddy Aurinko.
Relationships: Buddy Aurinko & Jet Sikuliaq, Buddy Aurinko/Vespa Ilkay
Kudos: 5





	Buddy Aurinko and the Ghosts of the Past

(Scene One)

Buddy Aurinko:   
“Vespa? Love?” Vespa was right there. I was asleep and dreaming, and for a moment I could see her face. I may have been asleep, but for a moment she was there.

[music plays]

It used to be Buddy and Vespa, Vespa and Buddy, and now it’s just me, laying on a bed alone in one of Hanataba’s clinics, Jet probably doing something in another room, giving me space. My name is Buddy Aurinko, and not only have I lost the love of my life but I’m also dying. I take a moment, move in what ways I can, and I wait for dear Jet’s dulcet tones to once again express concern over me.

Of course, the great Buddy Aurinko doesn’t need that concern. Now if only I could convince Jet to see it that way. I do suppose he had something of a point when he dragged me away from the Lighthouse. After all, there are better ways to go out than standing looking out on the sunset, waiting for a meeting that will never come. There is something of a romantic quality to it, I must say. That sort of sad romance hardly makes legends, though. If I can’t have my Vespa, then I can at least have that.

I do hope Jet has been putting some effort into researching our upcoming heist. Of course, he has, though. He’s Jet Sikuliaq. I honestly doubt there could ever possibly be a world in which- well- I can hardly imagine at this point a world where he and I are not, at the very least, friendly acquaintances, if not the close friends that we are now. Of course he’s probably done research on the upcoming heist while I was indisposed.

The plan, once I am recovered, is to steal data from the Cern Corporation’s safe box at the Artemis Bank. The bank rests under a pool of acid. In the lockbox there, supposedly, is a treasure map. This in turn supposedly leads to another clue, and then there is one after that. An intergalactic scavenger hunt that is guaranteed to strike a blow to one of the companies behind the war between the solar worlds and what once was the outer rim. Call me a Pholotian girl if you must, but I don’t believe I’ll ever stop being bitter over that war.

I don’t think Jet will, either.

Jet Sikuliaq: Buddy, Are you awake?

Buddy Aurinko: “Just a minute, Jet, darling!” I push myself into as seated a position as I can, and I straighten my appearance as much as one can without a mirror. My mother always said appearances were important, although given as how she primarily said such things about the lunar cycle it’s highly doubtful it applies here. Still, it is the point of the matter. “Come in!” My hair is covering my cybernetic eye, my posture? Immaculate. I know exactly where I want my part of the conversation to go, as well.

Jet Sikuliaq: I have news, Buddy.

Buddy Aurinko: His voice is, well it’s rather grave.

Jet Sikuliaq: From what I have been able to gather, the box has been moved. Our pre-existing plan is useless. However, I do believe I have found the location they moved it to.

Buddy Aurinko: “Well, darling? Where is it?” Jet looks solemn. I have a rather bad feeling, and it isn’t related to the fact that I just had an organ replaced.

Jet Sikuliaq: Balder.

Buddy Aurinko: Where it all went wrong. Where Vespa- [Buddy’s voice cracks for a moment] fell.

Jet Sikuliaq: We do not have to-

Buddy Aurinko: Of course we do, darling. Did you forget the little pot of creds at the end of the moonbeam we’re after?

(Scene Two)

Buddy Aurinko: Balder. An annoying little planet with big banks populated by extraordinarily large pockets. I never wanted to go back, to deal with the planet again. Still, duty calls- And I am not so weak as to let myself be controlled utterly by the past like this. Jet would probably say that it is not weakness, but he always has had a knack for turning my words against me. Which is why there is no force powerful enough for me to let him into my train of thoughts.

Jet Sikuliaq: It will be alright, Buddy.

Buddy Aurinko: He doesn’t say that it is alright, doesn’t give a time frame, doesn’t give platitudes. Just that stubborn, incredibly Jet sort of attitude. It is a strange thing, watching people grow and change. Jet’s metamorphosis has, most assuredly, been an extraordinary one. I am rather proud of him, not that I would say it, or that he would accept it. Although, I the reason I wouldn’t say it because he wouldn’t accept it. Even though it is well earned praise.

The sky is the same color as it was when Vespa fell. I miss her. I miss the woman that Buddy Aurinko was when she was with her- such a firecracker- burning so bright. We were legendary- she was legendary. The closest one could get to those ancient earthen gods, I thought once.

Icarus. The Icarus Bank and Trust. Some would call that fitting. I had always been the one who burnt hotter, though. Nowhere near as cautious. My Vespa shouldn’t have fallen. She wasn’t the sort to fly near as close to the sun like that. And according to Jet I’d have to be going there again.

Well. Jet did say that he could likely pull this heist off on his own. I don’t overly care to lose another person on Balder, though. So I pin my hair, do my makeup, don my most fabulous heist dress, and get ready to shoot the past in the face. Things will be different this time, I tell myself. It is essential I keep doing that, and so I will.

The great Buddy Aurinko waits for no one, much less her own morose thoughts.

(Scene 3)

Buddy Aurinko: The inside of the Icarus Bank and Trust is- well the best word for it is golden. Everything is gilded, and it isn’t gilded with simple, thin sheets of the stuff. Everything is coated in at least an inch of gold. It’s the crass sort of decadence that [her voice grows soft for a moment] Vespa and I used to mock.

Of course, it’s impossible to forget why we’re here, in the awkward position of being perched on Jet’s arm. Fortunately, this is the sole amount of acting that needs to be done to truly sell our cover stories. The dripping jewels and ugly fashion will more than sell us as new money. The hair dye and eyepatch will more than ensure nobody recognizes me.

Teller: And you two are? [the teller could, quite frankly, not care less. They’re getting minimum wage and wondering if they can get away with stealing a lamp]

Buddy Aurinko: Scarlet Ilkay, and this is my partner in crime-  
Jet Sikuliaq: Rocket Ilkay.

Buddy Aurinko: The look on Jet’s face when he says that is, dare I say, one of the funniest things that I’ve seen in my life. The sheer distaste at the concept of being named Rocket. It’s honestly quite glorious. Something else that is glorious is the look on the teller’s face. After all, we’ve planted the seeds for over a week- the Ilkays. New money. Unknown manner of connection to each other.

Teller: Oh- uh- what can I do for you- Mis- Mx- Ma-

Buddy Aurinko: I hold a hand forward to shake and say, “Just call me Scarlet.” I smile my most charming smile. “My colleague and I were hoping to see the inside of the vault? Just a formality, of course. We don’t mean to cast doubt on your security system- it’s just important to know that one’s valuables are safe.” The teller rushes off to grab a manager, and I toss a look to Jet. He’s been stiller than normal after introducing himself to the teller.

Jet Sikuliaq: Are you alright [a beat] Scarlet?

Buddy Aurinko: He’s worried. Of course he is. “Of course I am.” [Buddy titters- imagine a laugh but for the super rich] “Why wouldn’t I be? Now look alive, darling. It appears we’re about to get to speak to the manager.”

Jet Sikuliaq: You should have told me. My alias would have been Karen.

Buddy Aurinko: It takes all I have in me and then some to not start snickering then and there. That would be an egregious loss of decorum, though, so I don’t. Instead I look bored while running my eyes over the manager of the bank walking this way. A bit of a limp and a weasely little expression. “You must be the highly esteemed manager of this fine establishkment.” I say that like I wasn’t aware already, like there hadn’t been a great deal of research put into place. Of course, Scarlet Ilkay is a bit of an airhead. She didn’t research the bank at all.

Manager: Madame Ilkay, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I was told you and your colleague? Wanted a tour of the vault. That should be more than doable.

Buddy Aurinko: It felt strange, being called Madame Ilkay. I wonder if I’d’ve taken Vespa’s name had we ever gotten married. I suppose I’ll never find out. “Delightful. Rocket, dearest?”

Jet Sikuliaq: It most certainly does.

(Scene four)

Buddy Aurinko: The elevator was cramped, and it was altogether reminiscent of prison. Unlike prison, however, it was just as gilded as the rest of the bank. I dare say that the inside of this elevator cost more than my eye- and that cost a great deal. It was the sort of grotesque display you expect from those with more wealth than sense. For example, those with more wealth than the sense to not let two relative strangers into the vault. Their stupidity is our gain, I suppose.

And then we get there. The vault is as disgusting as the rest of the bank- as the rest of the planet with its towering skyscrapers. Gold and silver and gems- a mural on the far wall. The manager leads Jet and myself in, and then the door locks. The manager tries to make a comms call out- nothing happens. We didn’t set up any jammers. Still, it is convenient enough, I suppose. I pull a blaster and stun him, just as the comms crackle to life.

The voice on the comms: [staticky] This building is currently under control of Dark Matters. Do not resist.

Buddy Aurinko: I don’t normally swear, of course. Sometimes, though, a lady must make an exception. “Shit.”


End file.
